Why are you doing what you’re doing?

Such a simple question that has huge ramifications.

Your “why” is the heart of your motivation. Your why is what other people will connect to — whether in a job interview, blog article, book, podcast, non-profit, or business launch.

Knowing and owning the “why” behind your actions is more important than your actions itself.

As Simon Sinek wrote in Start with Why, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”

Yet, all too often we forget our “why”. We lose sight of it. Or we just never knew it in the first place.

Losing your why is like a body trying to operate without a heart.

Why Can’t We Articulate Our Why?

If you’re pursuing a dream, why you’re doing what you’re doing could make or break you.

Forgetting your “why” will leave you directionless. Like standing in the middle of the kitchen, racking your brain as to why you walked in there in the first place.

If you want to do something significant, you must know why it’s significant to you.

Your why is your purpose personified.

So how do you figure out your why?

How to Figure Out Your Why

For most of my twenties I felt like such a failure.

I wanted my life to really mean something, yet I felt lost, frustrated, and crushed under the heavy weight of all the unknowns.

Through this lonely struggle, I found my why —  Empowering my generation, and those leading them, with overwhelming amounts of truth, hope, and hilarity as we inspire and save each other from living a ho-hum “groan up” life.

My why was forged in failure. 

Your why might be birthed from the same place.

Failed plans. Heart-break. Frustration. Set-backs. Unmet expectations.

Rarely is your why birthed in the spotlight. 

When you’ve experienced a pain and frustration so intense, you bring that same intensity to finding a solution.

Because the problem is not theoretical for you. No, the problem has held your head under water and you know the fight that it took to just catch a breath.

Your why is birthed from your unique story and soul values. 

Your why is the soul of your unique signature sauce that gives the world a flavor it desperately needs.

Lose Your Why, Lose Your Motivation.

Your why becomes something you can not, not do.

My why became bigger than me. Bigger than all the no’s I received from publishers and all the setbacks. Because my why was as serious to me as life or death.

Yet, sometimes I still lose the vision of my why. Sometimes I get bogged down in the details and forget why I’m doing what I’m doing.

We have to keep going back to the soul of our motivation, beyond the logistics, the details, making money or acquiring stuff.

Your why is bigger than you.

I know that more fully, especially with a wife and three kids now. My why is also for them.

My four-year-old daughter slipped a drawing into my briefcase. It’s the two of us climbing a mountain.

Man, if that doesn’t keep me going, even when it feels like I’m crawling up that mountain with my finger nails, then what will?

You Must Know and Own Your Why

If your why is at the heart of what you do, the ebbs and flows of the day will not stop you. Sheer success and freaking failure will not keep you from plugging away.

The weight of your why will break off the doubts and fears that try to hold you back. 

Your why will give you the strength to Grit On.

What is your why?

Let us know within the comments on this article. There is no wrong answer. Just give it a shot. Why are you pursuing your dreams? Why are you passionate about something? Why is this thing something you can not, not do.

We connect, inspire, and resonate with others not through what we do, but why we do it.

Why are you doing what you do? Let us know here.